


In Which Peter and Bucky Share Cookies and Badassery

by Scotty1609



Series: Hey, Kid! (Or How the Avengers Unwittingly Adopted Spiderman) [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: And likes gingerbread cookies, And tries to hide it, Attempted robbery, Bucky Barnes & Sam Wilson Friendship, Bucky is old, Kinda, Peter is an adorable badass, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Bucky Barnes, but all Peter has are cookies, sharing cookies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-11 21:57:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9035876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scotty1609/pseuds/Scotty1609
Summary: Bucky Barnes is running late for a meeting, so what else does he do but chillax at a park in the snow and start falling asleep? Until, that is, a certain kid decides to save Bucky from frostbite. Bucky later returns the favor.





	

**Author's Note:**

> WARNINGS: umm... language and attempted robbery? no real warnings, here.
> 
> Also, lemme know if you have any ideas for how Peter should meet the rest of the Avengers please!!

“You okay, mister?”

Bucky's head snapped up from his chest. He had heard someone approaching, but he hadn't expected them to speak to him. Dozing off on park benches had become a hobby of his, but it probably wasn't a good idea to do so in the middle of December. He didn't hate the cold, despite what all the others thought. Apparently things like _Winter_ Soldier and being brainwashed in Russia made them shirk back from mentioning ice and snow in his presence. But Bucky liked the snow. Snow was white and pure, cleansing and soft. Bucky didn't get to enjoy the snow much way back when. While growing up, he typically spent his winter months indoors, taking care of a sick little Stevie boy. But then, while they were with the Howling Commandos, someone- he still believes it was Dum Dum- pegged the back of Steve's head with a snowball, and then- for the first time in their lives- Bucky and Steve enjoyed a snowball fight together.

Now, sitting on an icy park bench and letting snowflakes gently fall onto his head and shoulders, Bucky looked up at a young teenager. The kid was wearing a heavy wool scarf and hat, holding tightly to a tin container. His grip on the tin was so tight that Bucky could see his knuckles turning white- or maybe they were just white from the snow. Why the hell wasn't the kid wearing gloves anyways?

“You okay, mister?” the kid repeated, cocking his head to the side.

“Why do you ask?”

The boy shrugged. “You looked zoned-out and I didn't want you to catch frostbite out here.”

Bucky smirked. “Trust me, it's nowhere near cold enough to get frostbite out here.”

“It _is_ below freezing, though. Is your hand okay? It's not freezing up?”

And Bucky looked down at his hands, sighing when he realized he wasn't wearing gloves and his prosthetic hand was on proud display. “Yeah. It heats itself up.”

The boy's face suddenly lit up like a Christmas tree, and Bucky was taken aback. Normally kids were turned off by his arm, but this kid-

“What is it made of? Steel? Iron? There must be a coolant system if there's a heating one, too, right? Because if it gets too overheated then you need to cool it off, of course- but then how does it run? Off of batteries? Solar energy? Wait, but if it runs off solar power then how do you get energy in the winter if you're always wearing long-sleeved stuff-”

“Why are you so interested?” Bucky smiled gently at the kid, feeling a little warm in the chest. He loved kids, always had. Only Steve knew of Bucky's pre-war dreams of settling down with a dame and having a few squirts. The dream ruined his image, though, so he had sworn Steve to secrecy. In recent months though, Bucky had been too focused on finding himself to even fathom having children in the future. Maybe a teenager like this, though... In the far, _far_ future.

The boy blushed, and Bucky found himself grinning at the cute kid. He couldn't be more than fifteen or sixteen, but his big eyes behind wide-rimmed glasses made him look younger. If not for his gangly limbs and moderate height, Bucky would have taken him for twelve.

“I like engineering,” the boy said. “And I especially love biological engineering, and I'm sure _someone_ had to do something biological on your hand for it to move so fluidly, right? Or just really, really, _really_ good robotics...”

“It's my whole arm,” Bucky said, giving a laugh at the boy's amazed expression. “How old are you, kid?”

“Sixteen,” he responded. After a beat, the teen replied, “How old are you?”

“Ninety-nine.”

The kid laughed loudly, taking a seat next to Bucky. “Yeah right, mister.” But he didn't press the question. Opening up the blue tin he held, the kid pushed it towards Bucky. “Want a cookie? I've got gingerbread and snicker doodle.”

Bucky didn't hesitate to pick up a gingerbread deer, biting off its head and enjoying the spices that hit his tongue. Growing up in the Great Depression had changed his view on a lot of things. When you were offered food, you took it. Even if they just offered it to be polite, you took it. After all, they _offered_ , and it was _free food_. Bucky didn't take free food for granted.

The kid took his own cookie- a snicker doodle- and munched happily on it while he sat in comfortable silence next to Bucky. After finishing the cookie, the kid stood and held his hand out to the older man. “Well, it was nice meeting you! I've gotta get on to my meeting.”

_What meeting is a kid going to?_ Bucky thought humorously, but still shook the offered hand. “Nice meeting you.”

And the boy ran off through the park, leaving Bucky to his thoughts. What had made the kid stop to check up on him if he had a meeting to go to? And why offer him food? The excuse of not wanting Bucky to get frostbite seemed a little over-the-top. And the boy seemed familiar... But there's no way he knew that boy from _before_ , was there?

Bucky shook his head, checked his watch, and lifted himself from the park bench with a groan. He was running late to his own meeting, after all.

Meandering through the park, Bucky made it down to Main street. Checking his watch again, he sped up his pace. Steve would be pissed if he was late again.

“-don't have any money!”

“Yeah, right. Cough it up, brat!”

“I _don't_ \- GAH!”

The shouting caught Bucky's attention as he passed an alleyway, and he rounded back to see three plaid and leather-clad teenagers hovering over the smaller teen from before. The blue cookie tin had been abandoned by the entrance to the alley, and Bucky picked it up, dusting it off. “Hey!” he called out in the gruffest voice he could muster. When the three bigger teens whirled around, they snarled at him.

“Walk away, old man,” the one holding a knife to the boy's face growled.

Bucky merely laughed in response, plucking the lid of the cookie tin off and setting the container next to his feet. Playing with the lid, he admired it nonchalantly. “I'll give you five seconds to let that kid go, son. Five...”

The two other teens abandoned their holds on the boy, who looked rather unfrightened for having a knife to his cheek- and turned to Bucky.

“Four...”

They pulled out their own blades, letting out twin cries as they charged towards Bucky.

“Three-two-one!” The man shouted as he launched the tin lid like a Frisbee, bouncing it off one teen's forehead and making him stagger back with a yelp. The other teen he handled with a swift kick-sweep, knocking the thug onto his rear end with a smirk. When the first teen got too close for comfort, he used his metal arm to pick up the kid by his shirt-front and tossed him gently (as he could) into the dumpster beside the victim kid and the last thug-

Who was lying on the ground groaning, nursing a broken nose. The glasses kid stood above him looking bashful and confused. “Uh... he was distracted by you, so I-”

“Good job, kid,” Bucky praised the boy as he handed him back the- now lidded- cookie tin. “Let's get on before they get off their lazy asses.”

“'uck 'ou k'd!” the broken-nosed teen yelled, and Bucky gave him a short kick to the ribs.

“Language, brat.”

Throwing an arm around cookie-boy's shoulders, Bucky led him out of the alleyway and back to the street. After they made it a few blocks away from the thugs, Bucky removed his arm and looked at the boy. “Where're you headed?”

“Just to a meeting!” the boy chirped nervously, not wanting to give away a direct answer.

Bucky looked at his watch and shrugged. _Already running a little late._ “I'll walk you there.”

The boy pouted. “I can take care of myself.”

“Sure thing, short-stuff.” Bucky ruffled his hair, to the boy's chagrin. “Just think of it as me paying you back for the cookie... And for saving me from frostbite.”

The boy grinned, and with his messy hair and gaunt face, the kid reminded Bucky of Steve. “Alright,” he agreed readily- and damn if Bucky _still_ couldn't put a name to the kid's face, but he seemed just so _familiar_.

They continued down Main for quite some time before turning off onto a narrow street that led them to a cul-de-sac. There was a bank, a church, and another building with printed letters: _Recreational Center_.

“Hey,” Bucky said with a start. “This is where I was headed... How did I not..?”

“Old age.” And even as he said the joke, the boy ducked his head and blushed. Bucky laughed, elbowing the kid a bit before opening the door wide.

There to greet them was Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers, Steve looking a bit more disapproving of Bucky's tardiness than Sam. Sam himself was distracted by the boy behind Bucky.

“Peter!” he exclaimed happily. “I'm glad you could make it. Let me show you where the other teens are gathering. Steve, Bucky, I'll be right back to the meeting.” Sam gestured for the boy to follow him, and the kid- _Peter_ , Bucky mouthed to himself- hesitated for a moment.

“I brought cookies!” he blurted out, making the three men smile. “I didn't know if- ah- I mean- I just-”

“I'm sure the others will be thrilled, Pete,” Sam said with a gentle smile. “Are you ready to go in?”

Peter hesitated for a minute, taking a step back towards Bucky. The man put his hand on Peter's shoulder, making the boy look up at him. “It'll be good,” he said reassuringly. “I thought these meetings were shit at first-”

“ _Language_ , Buck!”

“-but they really do help,” Bucky finished, ignoring Steve's reprimand. “Just save me another cookie, alright Pete?”

Peter grinned, nodding, and gave Bucky a bear-hug around the waist. “Thanks again for earlier, mister!” he chirped before following Sam off towards the room where the teens were gathering.

“What happened earlier?” Steve asked, and Bucky shook his head.

“That brat reminds me a lot of you,” he said in passing as he waltzed into the main gathering room.

“What is _that_ supposed to mean?”

  
  


 


End file.
